Global investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs, announced via CNBC, that the firm will require companies to have one diverse board member before assisting in going public.
“Starting on July 1st in the U.S. and Europe, we’re not going to take a company public unless there’s at least one diverse board candidate, with a focus on women,” Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon, told the World Economic Forum.
Solomon explained that U.S. companies with a minimum of one female director performed better in the public offering market than companies that didn’t have a female board member. Solomon’s announcement did not specify the details of Goldman Sachs’ new diversity requirement as it relates to women of color. TechCrunch reports it fears women of color will be overlooked in the banking firm’s vague diversity approach.
Solomon emphasized his firm’s dedication to diversity and their willingness to pass on companies that do not meet their new diversity requirement.
“Look, we might miss some business, but in the long run, this I think is the best advice for companies that want to drive premium returns for their shareholders over time,” Solomon told CNBC.
With Goldman Sachs being the leading underwriter of U.S. public offerings in 2019 its diversity requirement could provoke other banking giants to follow suit.
